Lunchtime Lit Book Reviews

Mel reads a lot of books on his Postal lunch break, then reviews them succinctly for you, so you don't have to waste time while you are pretending to be cultured.  Unlike other reviewers, who always dish out the same stale, regurgitated tripe, Mel's Book Reviews are always fresh, never frozen.  Expect the unexpected.

Power in the Blood by Greg Matthews is a follow up to his highly praised Heart of the Country. Despite being lauded by bestselling horror author Stephen King, Matthews remains reclusive, his life and work shrouded in mystery. Are Greg Matthews and author Torsten Krol the same person?

Cloudsplitter, by Russel Banks, renews the debate about John Brown's role in history. Was he an avenging, freedom-fighting angel of the Lord, or a murderous terrorist, evil personified?

 Although Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake is often considered the red-headed stepchild of the Gormenghast series, it was significant in the creation of the "Steampunk" movement. This last volume was also Peake's final literary creation, before succumbing to the devastation of Dewy Body Dementia.

Jude The Obscure, by Thomas Hardy, is a study in "Pervasive Fatalism," a "Deadly War Between Flesh and Spirit." Mel Carriere explains why the novel's lessons and warnings still ring true today, a century and a quarter after its publication.

Postman/reviewer Mel Carriere was once a sailor, but he never pursued whales on the high seas, although his ship did accidentally hit one. Here he reviews a great white whale of a book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

In addition to his postal duties, Mel Carriere also runs a shelter for abandoned books. Here is one such waif that turned up on his doorstep - Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake.

Mel spreads yummy Red Sorghum molasses on a sandwich in his literary lunchbox.

Mel´s reviewing skills do not spare the bodice ripper - Wuthering Heights book review

Mel shoots up a giant overdose of a book - Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, then checks into rehab

Mel tests the aerodynamic capability of Mccarthyś masterwork - Blood Meridian
















The Master And Margarita

Mel moans about unrequited love while reattempting a book he gave up on almost 49 years ago.

The Slynx - the physical bulk of Tatyana Tolstaya's Slynx weighs but a fraction of great-Uncle Leo's massive masterpiece, but the ideas therein are very heavy indeed.

Giving the brain a break on the cratered plains of Acidalia Planitia

A Confederacy of Dunces - Neckbeards of the world unite!

The Mountain Shadow - The Art of Aphorism Ad Nauseam

You can't tell a Russian Premier from a hooded Sith lord without a scorecard these days.

The Man Without a Face Review

Mel reviews Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman from the horrors of his writing bunker

Internet memes abound about Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The subject of most of these is how he is always the bridesmaid, never the bride, in the Nobel Prize hunt, sitting anxiously by the phone with a Cutty Sark in hand, waiting in vain for word from the Stockholm committee. Mel ponders - Fair or unfair?

Kafka on The Shore Review

Five for One Lunchtime Lit special - The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy Review

Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York - Mel pontificates about folklore in John Steinbeck

Dad gave it to me, so I felt compelled to read it, okay?

Burning mailmen at the stake.

A literally explosive review by Mel Carriere

On the Beach

Join Mel for brown bagging beneath his favorite lunchtime lit tree as he discusses 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami.

Join Mel for a literary lunch as he reviews Gai-jin, by James Clavell, and tries his best not to get crumbs on your letters.

Salutations from My Shady Lunchtime Oasis - The Wind-up Bird Chronicle review

Updates from my Rolling Reading Room - Shantaram Book Review

 In all probability, the HIV virus made its way into the human race moving down a highway that looked something like this. - The Chimp And The River Review